About More in Common

More In Common is a new effort to build communities and societies that are stronger, more resilient and more open.

The More In Common initiative took shape from work undertaken since 2015 to understand why advanced democracies failed to respond more effectively to the refugee crisis and its impact on domestic politics.

This multi-country research (see below) looked at the contours of national political debate, public opinion dynamics and civil society’s response. The most immediate conclusions were that public opinion, rather than a lack of policy options, was the greatest constraint on a more effective and humane response to the crisis and that public opinion was not about refugees per se, but about ‘otherness’.

The refugee crisis was a harbinger of what happens when the forces of populist hate and division gain the upper hand, and those in favour of open and diverse societies do not come together in defense of those values. If the battle for hearts and minds is lost to authoritarian populists, advanced democracies will not be able to respond adequately to such profound collective challenges as climate change, inequality, technological disruption of the job market, population ageing and global public health threats. Holding diverse and inclusive societies together will become increasingly difficult.

More In Common’s objective across its different streams of work is to build closer and more inclusive societies, which are resilient to the appeal of xenophobia and authoritarian populism.

We aim to support the efforts of civil society and key influencers who share the values of open and inclusive societies, and help catalyse other new initiatives that advance these values.

More In Common is being established as a non-profit organisation with hubs in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States. Its co-founders are Tim Dixon, Mathieu Lefevre and Gemma Mortensen. More in Common has offices in London, Paris and New York (Germany opening soon).